Wednesday, April 30, 2008

American expert warns about gay agenda

PETER LABARBERA’sInterview

By OZIEL ALVES

To ENFOQUEGOSPELMagazine

EG: How long have you been involved in pro-life and pro-family work? How did you get started?

PL: I have been active in pro-life and pro-family work for over 18 years. Prior to that, I was active in the conservative movement, opposing the Left’s pro-Marxist agenda in Central America and working as a reporter for The Washington Times, which is one of the best conservative news sources in the United States.

I got involved with the pro-family movement when I went to work for Concerned Women for America (even though I am a man). CWA is a wonderful Christian organization led by Beverly LaHaye that is based in Washington, D.C. It was there that I began researching the homosexual activist movement, and learned that there was a vast, highly organized network of “gay” organizations dedicated to overthrowing sexual and gender norms in this country (and actually, the world, as this is an international agenda). At CWA, in 1993, I launched my publication “Lambda Report,” which sought to expose the homosexual agenda using “gay” sources, because many people are naïve about this nefarious movement. Then I formed Americans For Truth (www.americansfortruth.org). Since then I have been researching and writing about the homosexual movement from a critical and Christian perspective, attending numerous “gay” events, reading homosexual literature extensively, etc., to gain a firsthand perspective on this agenda. Sadly, I have found that homosexual activists are often more committed to spreading their ungodly agenda than Christian are in standing up against it.

EG:How do you classify the gay agenda in the world? Are they getting stronger than the church, worldwide?

PL: The “gay agenda” – actually the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) agenda -- is basically anything that promotes the acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality (gender confusion) in society and the law. That includes: promoting homosexual so-called “marriage” or “civil unions” (which is merely “same-sex marriage” by another name); homosexual adoption of children (which creates homes that are not in the best interest of children because they are motherless or fatherless by design); promoting homosexual, bisexual, and “transgender” identities in school programs and through “GLBT-friendly” curricula; pro-gay “hate crimes” laws that ultimately will be used to restrict the speech and freedom of Christians who oppose homosexuality; “sexual orientation” nondiscrimination laws that wrongly create “civil rights” and “human rights” based on immoral, changeable, and destructive homosexual behavior; “transgender” rights laws and corporate policies that build acceptance for the radical idea that men can change their God-given “gender” and become a woman, and vice versa; allowing open homosexuality in the military; corporate policies that force Christians and other moral dissenters to listen to pro-“gay” lectures at work; attempts by pro-homosexual theologians to re-write the Bible so that it does not say that homosexuality is sinful; efforts to deny the truth that God can help homosexuals change and that homosexuals are not “born that way” -- i.e., that they are destined to practice immoral behavior because this is “who they are.”

EG: Do you think, we (The Christian People) will win the fight against the legalization of gay marriage, adoption and other homosexual rights since the gay activists are subsidized by billionaire foundations? I just ask it, because it seems that they are getting so strong, conquering their dreams, etc., and at the same time the bible says that we are not of this world and that the world will be dominated by the devil. Don’t you think that sometimes our fight is for nothing and that we should not waste our time and just try to preach the gospel?

PL: I don’t know if we will win or not (in this particular era). We lost the struggle over legal abortion in the USA but now the pro-life side has all the momentum, so thing can change. The Bible indicates that there are dark days ahead as the world as we know it comes to a close. But it also tells us not to try to predict when Jesus is coming back. Some Christians opt to abandon the “Culture Wars” because they presume that these are the end times (in the immediate future). But imagine how the Christians must have felt in Germany when Hitler was taking over and when the Nazis began their awful genocide against the Jews and other peoples! It was wrong then for Christians to become disengaged from politics and culture – and it had devastating consequences -- and it is wrong today. Christians who live in democratic societies have a Christian duty to be excellent and involved citizens. This is a stewardship issue. And it breaks my heart to see Christians abandon public policy (politics) in free societies while left-wing activists work overtime to enact their destructive agendas. Are we to believe that democracies are for social leftists only? Of course not. Healthy democracies requires a good and informed citizenship; they reward people who get involved in the system. The main problem in the USA is that the Left is super-involved in politics, while tens of millions of evangelical, Bible-believing Christians are not involved at all.

I do not think that a Christian needs to make a choice between engaging in public policy and witnessing the Gospel. You can do both. Certainly, we need spiritual revival to happen for serious change to occur in Brazil, the USA, or any nation – and we are seeing in America the deep moral crisis that results when a people leave God behind. But regarding public policy: if faithful Christians don’t speak out against oppressive homosexual legislation that helps build acceptance for immoral behavior, who will?

EG: Soon the world will know the next United States President.We know that the decisions taken by this nation (USA) have a huge impact on many other nations’ decisions – Brazil, for example. So, my question is “On the politics of human life and human sexuality what is coming to affect the world in the following year?”

PL: If the Democrats win in November, we will see a seismic shift in this country, as the Democrats have gone very pro-homosexual in the last decade. (They have been pro-abortion-on-demand even longer.) Recently, Democrat Al Gore – who barely lost in his bid for the presidency in 2004 – came out for “same-sex marriage.” Many other leading Democrats will do the same, and some in the (more conservative) Republican Party are also pushing the pro-“gay” line. If a Democrat is elected in November, we will almost certainly see passage of federal pro-homosexual “Employment Nondiscrimination” and “Hate Crimes” legislation – which could have far-reaching effects for American Christians and anyone who opposes homosexuality. Also, it is likely that federal “domestic partner” legislation could be signed into law, as well as a law allowing open homosexuals in the military (as is already allowed in Great Britain). The “criminalization of Christianity” (as it relates to our freedom to act on our faith and oppose homosexuality) will be advanced in the USA. This will help propel the same agenda throughout the world. If a Republican (John McCain) is elected, things will probably continue much as they are today under Bush – but we cannot tell if McCain will be more open than Bush to pro-homosexual legislation. In the final days of the Bush Administration, it seems the White House is softening a bit on “gay rights,” e.g., casting pro-homosexual votes in the United Nations.

Regarding abortion and abstinence education, a Democratic administration would likely step up abortion advocacy and funding in U.S. foreign aid, as well as push so-called “comprehensive sex education” – which is a liberal euphemism for pro-condom “sex ed” (so-called “safe sex”) that would end the Bush policy of strongly favoring abstinence policies in U.S. education. There are stark differences between the Democrats and Republicans, even if McCain is not as conservative as many pro-family advocates would like.

EG: Slowly the gay agenda is getting what they want. Nowadays some of them as NAMBLA for instance, are fighting to have the right of having free sexual relationship with boys less than 18 years old. Do you think that someday they will be successful in their battle – that free sex between adults and children will be the future of the gay agenda, or is that something which will never happen?

PL: NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) is a tiny group here. NAMBLA used to march in some American “gay pride” parades but is now denounced by all major homosexual activist groups. (They knew it was bad public relations to join with open pedophiles.) However, homosexual activists are working to lower the “age of consent” for homosexual sex, which accomplishes one of NAMBLA’s goals: making it legal for teenagers to engage in homosexual sodomy – which often occurs with adults. The reality today is that young men are dying of AIDS – after being infected by older homosexual men with the disease. How sad that the tremendous health hazards of male homosexuality are not taught to impressionable youngsters. It is not a coincidence that many “gay” men die young – it is directly tied to the unnatural behaviors (e.g., sodomy) that they practice. For excellent (secular) research on the homosexuality and gender confusion (transgenderism), I recommend NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) at www.narth.com.

EG: Recently, many gay sexual scandals involving very recognized preachers in the USA churches come up. One of them is Tag Haggard a pastor which was a great leader and also counselor of President Bush. Another case was pastor Jeff Devore, who was put in jail after he was discovered distributing children pornography. Which effects these constant scandals are causing in the pro-family fight against the gay agenda in the USA?

PL: The sex scandals have of course diminished respect for the Christian Church in the USA. There is nothing that the liberal media and the American Left love more than signs of gross hypocrisy in the Church. However, I consider the three greatest threats in America today regarding homosexuality and the Church to be: 1) the continued opposition of so many pastors and churches to getting involved in public policy and cultural issues – that is, to take public stands in defense of Biblical morality; 2) the rise of an avowedly anti-Christian (atheist) political/cultural movement in the USA; and 3) the growth of left-wing evangelicalism in the U.S. – e.g., leaders like Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis who advocate FOR pro-homosexual laws in the name of Christian “justice.”

EG: In some regions of the United States, homosexual “marriage” and adoption are already legal. How has the gospel church been leading in areas where these “gay rights” are in place?

PL: I do not think that most Bible-believing churches have been particularly effective on this issue – with some key exceptions. For example, many evangelical churches have helped to pass pro-defense-of marriage amendments (to keep marriage as one-man, one-woman) in many states, and many churches have reached out in love to homosexual strugglers with the hope of the Gospel. However, in areas of the United States where “gay rights” is entrenched, generally the Church has been a weak voice in the culture and has not had much influence in public policy debates. That’s too bad. Christian men should be leaders in the battle of good versus evil! When Christians retreat from public policy or when the true Gospel is replaced by liberal theology, bad things happen in society. Just look at Britain, which has fallen from being a much more Christian nation to one now that celebrates and honors homosexuality in the law. This is why I am saying: get involved now in your church and community on this issue before it’s too late! If people opposed to God’s will on this issue can use the political system to organize and advocate for their viewpoint, then why shouldn’t people who AGREE WITH GOD do the same?

EG: Do you know some gospel church which has been already obliged to celebrate a gay “marriage”?

PL: No, this has not happened yet in the USA, but certainly in the future we will certainly see homosexual lawsuits against churches that refuse to perform (counterfeit) “gay marriages.” After all, liberals falsely equate opposition to homosexuality with “hate” and racism – and racism is opposed in our legal system. More serious pro-gay harassing lawsuits will probably not happen in America until more states and cities enact “civil unions” or “domestic partners” laws. (“Civil unions” are just homosexual “marriage” under a different name.) The homosexual agenda always advances incrementally, but now in the United States, because the media and academia are so strongly assisting the homosexual side, their agenda is moving ahead faster than in the past. Also, we should remember that sometimes just the THREAT of a lawsuit has the effect of silencing pastors and others who should be speaking out against the normalization of homosexuality. Jesus said we would be persecuted for his name’s sake, and this is where the rubber meets the road!

EG: What’s the role and importance of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality in the United States?

PL: Americans For Truth (www.americansfortruth.org) is one of a tiny number of groups worldwide dedicated solely to fighting the homosexual and transsexual activist agendas. The homosexual activists spend far more promoting homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality than the entire, collective pro-family movement in the USA. It’s not even close. They have the money and the power; we have God’s truth. AFTAH’s most important roles are to: 1) tell the hard truths about the destructive homosexual agenda; and 2) inspire people across the world to defend God’s truth on this issue and not be intimidated by the powerful Homosexual Lobby; and 3) defend the Christian Church and the Word of God against the insidious campaign by the Left to say that somehow historic Christianity is wrong in its opposition to homosexuality. This includes defending Christians’ (and other religious citizens’ – and even non-religious peoples’) “right to be moral” by opposing all laws that would use the government’s authority to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. Our website gets hits from all over the world, and I encourage your readers to sign up for our free e-mail updates on the website.

EG:Do you think that in the future the homosexual agenda can put an end in the freedom of religion worldwide?

PL: I certainly hope not. In fact, in Canada we are seeing a backlash. There, the government’s pro-homosexual “human rights tribunals” have gone so far overboard in persecuting Christians (who do not “hate” homosexuals but merely oppose the homosexual lifestyle) that now some leading media commentators are advocating that the tribunals be closed down. The fact is, homosexual “rights” and Christians’ freedom to believe what the Word of God teaches about homosexual sin are incompatible. Pro-homosexual “nondiscrimination” laws will always be at war against the rights of religious people NOT to celebrate and accept destructive homosexual behavior. The homosexual agenda will triumph only if Christians abandon the political and cultural arenas to the enemy.

EG: What results would you hope to see come from this pro-family activists meeting organized by VINACC here in Brazil?

PL: Although I unfortunately was forced to miss the VINACC meeting due to a travel visa snafu, I trust that Brazilian pro-family advocate Julio Severo was able to motivate the conference. Julio is a real hero – he even has a following here in the United States! -- who is bravely living out the Bible’s teachings about being “persecuted for Jesus’ namesake.” We must fear God, not man. My hope would be that VINACC attendees would be emboldened to “speak the truth in love” and not let the Left or the government enshrine homosexuality as a “human right” in Brazil. (After all, true human and civil rights are not based on sexual perversion and sinful behaviors that can be changed.) I will pray that VINACC will succeed in helping to build up Christian “ex-gay” ministries across Brazil (perhaps operating out of churches), so that people struggling with homosexuality in your country would know that “nobody has to be gay,” and that there is hope for change through Jesus Christ. (For an example, see the website of American ex-“gay” Stephen Bennett at www.sbministries.org.) And I would also hope that through this exciting VINACC conference, believers would be encouraged to “take the offensive for truth” in this important cultural battle, and not let the aggressive homosexual movement pass legislation that will help “criminalize Christianity” in Brazil. If Christians in Brazil do not act now to defend their freedoms, their right to stand for historic Biblical morality on this issue may be taken away.

EG: There are some pastors here in Brazil that say that the battle of the Christian people against the gay agenda will not put an end in that practice. So, that we should not waste our time in these battles with the government but instead preach the gospel to everybody as the bible asks us to do. In your opinion what will be consequences to the church if we don’t get united in this fight against the pro-homosexual movement?

PL: As I said earlier, I think it would be disastrous. When Christians or conservatives abandon politics, another agenda will fill that void – and it will be the pro-homosexual and pro-abortion Left’s agenda! Again, this does NOT mean we should stop preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to homosexuals and to ALL sinners. That is a Christian’s highest calling. But political organization and mobilization carries the day in a democracy and in determining what kind of society we live in -- so we cannot leave that arena to pro-abortion and pro-homosexual forces that are at war with God’s moral law.

EG: Are there some political consequences to the church if we consider the Brazilian gay agenda and the American gay agenda?

PL: Yes, the homosexual lobby hates the Christian Church, because they hate what the Bible teaches about homosexuality as an egregious sin (abomination) that CAN be overcome through the power of Jesus Christ. This is why revisionist homosexual theologians are working so hard to re-write the Bible to accommodate their sinful behavior. They make up lies, such as that David and Jonathan in the Old Testament were homosexual lovers -- which is ridiculous. (Here is a terrific Christian website to refute homosexual theology: www.robgagnon.net.) This is why faithful Christians need to contend for the faith! We must not allow the homosexual activists to undermine the Word of God on this issue.

EG: One of the political campaign policy items that Americans for Truth has adopted is to not participate in any political campaign favoring or opposing to any candidate for public office. What about the next president of the United States. Does the Americans for Truth support somebody?

PL: As a tax-exempt non-profit organization, Americans For Truth is forbidden by the U.S. Government from getting involved in presidential elections – e.g., endorsing a candidates. I formed the website “Republicans For Family Values” (www.rffv.org) so I could speak out on the presidential contest. At www.rffv.org, we will be exposing the Democrats’ (Barack Obama and/or Hillary Clinton) radical pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality records. Most Americans simply are unaware of how radical the Democrats are, because the liberal media does not report this information.

EG: In case the Brazilian homosexual agenda gets the approval of their gay protection laws, what would be your counsel to the pastor of our nation?

PL: First of all, I would urge that pastors get involved now to PREVENT onerous pro-homosexual bills from becoming law. That is the key. Once these bills become laws, they are very hard to overturn. (“Rights” – even bogus ones based on homosexuality – are hard to take away.) Pastors and churches need to help educate Christians on the dangerous impact of pro-gay laws – which “criminalize” our right to stand for God’s truth on the issue of same-sex behavior. Look at what has happened in Britain, Canada, Sweden (where a pastor was arrested for preaching a Biblical sermon against homosexuality), and the USA. It should never be illegal in any civilized society to preach God’s Word – with regard to homosexuality or any sin. These pro-homosexual laws would also be a stepping stone for homosexual “marriage” (“civil unions”) and would effectively force Christian business owners and others who oppose homosexuality to subsidize and support the immoral homosexual relationships of their employees. As for stopping violent or hateful crimes against homosexuals, this can be done by effective police work. The government does not need to create special pro-homosexual laws and policies -- and pro-gay, anti-“homophobia” propaganda -- to protect ALL of its citizens equally. In the same way, schools can protect each and every one of their students without creating “sexual orientation” policies that end up being used to promote homosexuality as normal and good to all the students.

EG: In the countries where the homosexual agenda has reached their objectives, as in Spain for instance, can you already point to serious consequences to the church?

PL: Absolutely. In Britain, a Christian pastor was arrested simply for passing out Christian pamphlets at a homosexual event. This is the Gospel in action – but he was targeted for arrest under Britain’s “anti-homophobia” policies. (“Homophobia” is a relatively new word in the English language, and is used to stigmatize and intimidate those who oppose homosexuality; I do not “fear” homosexuals but I do oppose homosexual behavior as being outside of God’s plan for their lives.) In Canada, too, we have seen Christians being forced to spend enormous sums of money to defend themselves because they were charged with “anti-gay discrimination” under the “human rights” tribunals. The persecution is growing in the United States as well. In a famous case in Philadelphia, several Christians were arrested and threatened with long jail sentences under a “hate crime” law because they preached the Gospel at a homosexual festival. My good friend Matt Barber – who is now a pro-family analyst for Concerned Women for America (www.cwfa.org) – was fired from his high-level job at Allstate Insurance Corporation because he wrote an article on the Web (on his own time) critical of homosexual “marriage.” Religious-based liberties and morality and pro-homosexual laws simply cannot co-exist; one must take precedence – and the homosexual activists believe affirming their lifestyle is more important than preserving traditional religious freedom.

EG: Before God, there is no excuse. Same-sex “marriage” is a sin with very hard consequences. But out this evangelical context, we know that the institutionalization of the homosexual marriage could be also considered bad for the marriage, bad for children and bad for the society. Could you point some negative social aspects which will be bad for the society in future even for those who are not Christian (for example, lower marriage rates, instability in the marriages, more fatherless children, domestic violence and so on)?

PL: From a public policy and cultural standpoint, homosexual “marriage” and “civil unions” laws are a disaster. We have seen that in the Scandinavian countries where homosexual “unions” laws giving marital-type rights and benefits to same-sex couples have been around a while, there is less respect generally among the citizenry for the institution of marriage. In other words, when you open up marriage to everybody – and completely change its meaning -- you degrade this critical institution that is the foundation for healthy societies and strong families. Homosexual “civil union” and “marriage” laws (in the USA, “gay marriage” is fully legal only in Massachusetts) also lead to expanded homosexual adoption of children – which intentionally denies innocent children either a mother or a father. (Also, homosexual adults are not appropriate role models for children, and it is wrong for kids to be exposed to acts of homosexual behavior/affection in their own home.) Pro-gay “marriage” laws are also used to justify expanded pro-homosexual indoctrination in the schools.

Study after study has shown that the healthiest and most stable environment for raising children is a two-parent married household with a mother and father. Also, we know that homosexual male “monogamous relationships” are notoriously unstable and promiscuous – that is, they usually are not really “monogamous” but allow “outside sex” in the relationship. “Gay parenting” is a social experiment whose repercussions we do not know. One study by pro-homosexual researchers found that children raised by homosexuals were more likely than children of non-gay parents to experiment with homosexual behaviors themselves. What strikes me in this rush for the government to promote homosexual relationships and “gay parenting” is that it is NOT motivated by what’s best for the children – but rather the desires of “gay” adults. All public policy should be motivated by the need to create healthy environments for raising children – which is why we favor laws that preserve and reward traditional marriage.

EG: What about the schools? Are you supporter of the opinion that the school is the future prostitution zone? Are you also a defender of the home schooling?

PL: We are now home-schooling one of our five children, and already I see the biggest advantage of home schooling: you as parents get to determine what your child studies and learns. In America, God, the Bible and prayer have been stripped from the public schools – even though the United States of America began as a largely Christian nation, and despite the fact that our earliest public schools studied the Bible! How far we as a nation have fallen! A large part of the reason for that is the debasement of the public schools and the way that liberals are using them to promote leftist social ideologies – sexual immorality, evolution, radical environmentalism, etc.

I hope and pray that Brazil’s public schools do not follow in the pattern of American schools. Here we have seen the growth of an extensive pro-homosexual network in the schools. It started in colleges, then moved to high schools, and now it is expanding in middle schools – and even elementary schools, where young children are taught to value homosexual-led “families”! The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is a well-funded group that promotes homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality in the U.S. schools using a variety of tactics: one-sided pro-homosexual curricula; homosexual student “clubs” called “gay-straight alliances”; and pro-gay teacher training. The result is that many students are being brainwashed because they are hearing just ONE SIDE of the homosexual issue. Also, our children are inundated with pop-culture messages that glamorize homosexuality and gender confusion – e.g., through MTV and Hollywood. So the younger generations are far more pro-homosexual than people over 40. They often don’t see homosexuality as a big deal, and lecture their parents – even in Christian homes – for their “homophobia.” The bottom line is that propaganda works.

Another tragedy is that boys and girls are “coming out” as “gay” at far younger ages than in decades past. How can a 13-year-old boy know he is a homosexual (“gay”), or a 12-year-old girl know she is a lesbian? We need to expose these kids to FORMER homosexuals like Charlene Cothran, who overcame years of living as a lesbian activist after she came to know Jesus Christ (see the story about Cothran by plugging her name in AFTAH’s web “Search” engine: www.americansfortruth.org). They need to see that homosexuality is about CHANGEABLE BEHAVIOR, not some identity that you are born with and which defines a person. And they need to be taught the truth of the Bible: that homosexual behavior is always wrong and offensive to our holy and loving Creater.

EG:Here I want to leave an open space for you to say something for the Brazilian church from the extreme north and extreme south:

PL: You must not capitulate to this anti-God agenda which is in the vanguard of restricting Christian’s rights and undermining time-tested, Judeo-Christian morality. The Lord is the same “yesterday, today, and forever”; He has not changed and His views on sexual immorality remain the same: homosexual acts are as wrong today as they were 4,000 years ago. Just as in early New Testament times, Jesus can redeem people from this sin, so as Christians we must reach out with the love of Christ to men and women who struggle with this sin problem. We must spread the word that just as there were “former homosexuals” in Bible times, there are “ex-gays” today – living testimonies to the awesome, transforming power of our living Lord! Society may be becoming more and more decadent, but we as believers are charged with being “salt and light” by telling the Truth and witnessing to a lost and perishing generation. We must always fear God and not man when it comes to our truth-telling efforts. I pray that Brazil does not follow down the same pro-homosexuality path as the United States. And to all Brazilian believers I would ask: please pray for Christians here in the United States, that we will be bold and effective in our witness and that through His grace we might succeed in slowing down – and then reversing – the Homosexual Juggernaut. Thank you!